Snoring Diagnosis

Snoring is usually assessed in clinical practice from subjective accounts by the snorer and his/her partner
Measuring snoring quantitatively needs a physician who perform sleep study

Of coarse you will not be able to know if you are snoring or not alone {You only snore while sleeping}

So How can You Diagnose that you are snoring?

• If you suffer from sleep disorders you may feel tired during the day, sleepiness and decreased concentration and ability to function and also you may be depressed or impatient while working, driving, studying, or watching a movie.
• If you sleep with some one you can easily ask him if you snore at night or no
• If you are sleeping alone then you can use the old trick {Recording tape} near the bed and listen to it the next morning usually if you are a regular snorer you will here your snoring as soon as you fall asleep
• If you are experiencing one or more of these symptoms, we recommend you to be checked at a Sleep Laboratory, using simple and non-invasive tests. There are companies who operate mobile sleep laboratories, and the testing could take place at your home.

Diagnosis of the severity of the condition

You will need to ask your partner about your snoring behavior

1. Mild snoring
   
   • You snore only when you sleep on your back
   • Your snoring is soft and of low volume
2. Marked snoring
   
   • You snore in any position
   • Your snoring is very loud

N.B. Loud and severe snoring not indicates sleep apnea, also in sleep apnea may be you are not snoring so loudly as your airways are so narrow to produce the sound

Tests for diagnosis the origin of your snoring

The 4 parts that may cause snore sound are

1. Nose
2. Mouth
3. Tongue
4. Soft palate

To determine if the cause is from the nose or not

Press the side of one nostril to close it. Close your mouth; breathe in through your other nostril. If the nostril tends to get narrow and collapse, try propping it open with the clean end of a matchstick. If breathing is easier with the nostril propped open, nasal dilators may remove your snoring problem. Don't forget to test the other nostril.

Now, close your mouth, try breathing in through your nose. If you cannot breathe well through your nose you may be suffering from any of the previous conditions.

To determine if the cause is from your mouth or not

Open your mouth widely and make a snoring noise. After that close your mouth and try to make the same noise. If you can only snore with your mouth open then the cause of snoring is from your mouth

Another way is to ask your sleeping partner to notice If you snore while your mouth is open then the snoring cause is from your mouth " Closing your mouth with a jaw supporter will greatly improves your snoring.

determine if the cause is your tongue or not

Stick your tongue out as far as it will go and grip it between your teeth as mush as possible. Now try to make a snoring noise. If the snoring noise is reduced with your tongue in this forward position then you are what is known as a 'tongue base snorer '. The best device that will help you to stop snoring in this case is by using Mandibular Advancement Device.

Palatal Flutter

If none of these tests has helped so may be your soft palate is vibrating. That is called 'Palatal flutter' and it means  the vibration of the soft palate and uvula. This is often the cause in patients who are of normal weight

Multi factorial Snoring

You may find that you fit into more than one cause. At that case your snoring is probably originating from more than one area. For example, you may suffer from both palatal flutter and tongue base snoring.

You may seek medical advice from an ENT specialist  as they have better equipments to visualize the nose, the mouth, the tongue and the throat

You can search here for an ENT specialist
e.g.."Los Angeles ENT specialist" or "Los Angeles OtoRhinoLaryngologist"

Now shift to How to stop snoring to learn how to control the snoring causes